Perfect Strangers
by seaunicorn
Summary: Delphine isn't gay, but when her friends drag her to a gay bar and she meets a stranger, she's not so sure anymore.


Delphine wondered why she let her friends drag her out clubbing that night. She wondered why she wasn't more resistant. She wondered why her friends even _wanted_ her to go. But mostly, she wondered why they were at what appears to be a lesbian club.

The neon sign flashed the name of the club, _Hot Legs_, very brightly, and the line outside was made up almost entirely of women.

"Julie," Delphine started, and when her friend turned her head, Delphine continued, "is this a gay bar?"

"Of course!"

Delphine waited for further explanation, but none came

"Why?" she asked.

"To get you laid, of course!"

Now Delphine was really confused. She is straight and her friends know this very well.

"I'm not gay," she said.

Julie laughed heartily. "I know that, silly! Gay bars are the best place to meet hot guys, didn't you know that? They're all looking to turn a lesbian, but no lesbians actually want them so they'll just come to us. Some of the best sex I've had was with guys I met here!"

"I don't want to hook up with anyone tonight," Delphine protested.

"But Del, I think you need to. You broke up with Simon months ago and haven't had any action since. You need to get back on the market, and that all starts with having some hot, wild sex with a perfect stranger."

Delphine sighed, realizing she wasn't going to talk her friend out of this. She said nothing more and followed her friends inside the club, wondering why she calls these people her friends.

They all ordered the most expensive drinks on the menu. Delphine ordered a glass of red wine and sat at the bar. Her friend Charlotte tried to drag her out with them and didn't relent when Delphine refused, until she promised to join them after she finished her drink.

Delphine sighed and rubbed at her temples; the pounding music was already starting to give her a headache. Why did her friends think this would be a good idea? Even before Delphine started dating Simon, she never went clubbing with them, so why would tonight be any different? She finished her drink, hoping the wine will make her night at least slightly more enjoyable.

Delphine glanced at the dance floor, scanning the crowd for her friends, but none of them were in sight. She looked back at her empty glass of wine, really regretting her promise to Charlotte. She definitely did not want to maneuver through sweaty bodies on the dance floor to find her friends, but she had no choice. Delphine sighed heavily before turning around in her seat to join them, but instead found herself face to face with a small, dreadlocked girl with glasses resting on her nose and a slightly startled expression on her face.

"Umm, hey," the girl quickly said, waving and offering a smile. A very radiant smile, Delphine thought.

"Can I help you?" Delphine asked, and winced as soon as she did. The girl's grin faltered ever so slightly and she lowered her hand.

"I was just… I noticed, um, you're sitting alone," she fumbled over her words a little.

"I am."

"Can I buy you a drink?"

Delphine doesn't know what tempted her to say yes to this girl. She really shouldn't lead her on, but she already missed the hopeful smile on the girl's face and wanted to see it again. She was intrigued by the playful glint in her eyes. And maybe she was a little sexy. Maybe. But also, Delphine was never one to say no to a free drink.

"Yes," Delphine finally replied. "Bien sur."

And suddenly the girl's full smile was back and Delphine wondered why she ever hesitated to say yes.

The girl plopped herself down on the seat next to her and ordered them each a glass of wine.

"I'm Cosima, by the way," she said, holding out her hand.

Delphine grasped the hand lightly in her own, and Cosima's skin was soft and warm and Delphine almost didn't want to let go.

"Delphine," she replied. "Enchantée."

Cosima's smile grew even more. "Enchentée," she said, butchering the word with her American accent, something that would usually irk Delphine, but with Cosima it was only adorable. Delphine suppressed her giggle, but the corners of her lips turned up into a smile.

"So," Cosima said, taking a sip of her wine, "you don't really wanna be here, do you?"

Delphine opened her mouth, closed it again, then thought for a moment. "It's that obvious, is it?"

"Maybe a little," Cosima said, grinning behind her glass.

"Then why are you here?" Delphine asked. "If it's that obvious."

"Well, obvious for me might not be as obvious for someone else. I notice people. Especially beautiful girls sitting alone at bars," Cosima said. "Plus I figured, better I talk to you before, say… one of them?" Cosima pointed at two women on the other end of the bar who were fiercely making out; the bartender had to move their empty glasses out of the way before they knocked them over. "Ten bucks says they go fuck in the bathroom in the next five minutes."

Delphine looked at the women and back at Cosima. Cosima had a challenging smirk on her face and Delphine just couldn't resist. "You're on," she said. They shook on it.

"God, everyone in this club is so desperate to get laid," Cosima commented.

"And you're not?" Delphine asked. "You are at this club."

"Well you're here too!"

"I think we've already established that I'm not here of my own accord."

"Well, I come for the pleasant conversation with perfect strangers." Cosima winked, and Delphine felt herself blush. "Okay, honestly though, I don't live far and it's kinda fun to come and people watch whenever I need a study break."

"Study break?" Delphine asked. "What do you—"

"Look at that! Not even two minutes!" Cosima pointed to the couple from the other end of the bar, who were halfway across the room. Delphine watched as they went into the bathroom. "Fork it over, blondie."

"Well, we do not know that they are having sex in there," Delphine tried to defend.

"You wanna go check?" Delphine sighed and rummaged through her purse to pull out a crisp ten dollar bill. "That's what I thought." Cosima plucked the money from her hand and jumped off her seat. "Do you wanna get out of here?" she asked.

"What?"

"Thing is, I just came into a little bit of money," Cosima said, holding up Delphine's ten dollar bill. "And it's actually just enough to buy ice cream for two."

Delphine hesitated. She glanced at the dance floor again and spotted her friends; they looked like they were having the time of their lives. They wouldn't miss her.

"What do you say?" Cosima asked, and held out a hand and wiggled her fingers enticingly.

"I would love to," Delphine said. She grabbed Cosima's hand and stepped down from her chair.

Standing side by side, Delphine realized how small this girl was. They were both wearing heels, but Cosima was nearly a head shorter than her and had to tilt her head up to meet Delphine's eyes. It was endearing, Delphine thought, that this girl who was so small had such a large personality.

Cosima squeezed her hand and her eyes lit up with her smile. Then, she tugged on Delphine's arm and made her way out of the club, with Delphine trailing closely behind. Delphine was glad for Cosima's tight grip on her hand as they maneuvered between bodies and through the crowds toward the exit.

When they finally made it outside, Cosima didn't let go of her hand. Delphine didn't mind. The fresh air and the escape from pounding, synthetic beats did wonders for Delphine's headache. She felt like she could breathe again.

They walked leisurely down the block, hand in hand, and Delphine felt her cheeks flushing with color. Was she leading this girl on? Was she attracted to this girl? Did it even matter? Delphine felt comfortable with another person for the first time in a very long time; her face was red and her palms were sweaty there was no way she would rather be back in that club than with Cosima right now.

"So what do you study?" Delphine asked. The question caught Cosima off guard, as they had been walking in silence thus far.

"Huh?"

"You said before, when you need a study break you come here," Delphine explained. "What do you study?"

"Oh! That, uh, I'm just, ah, working on my PhD in evolutionary development. I get it, kinda boring, we don't have to talk about that."

"No, not boring at all!" Delphine said. "I actually just finished my PhD in immunology."

"No way! That's so rad!"

They talked about their fields of science and classes they enjoyed and their dissertations the entire way to the ice cream shop. If Delphine wasn't enamored with this girl before, she was by now. Beautiful, intelligent, funny, and she gave Delphine butterflies. Delphine didn't know why she was so drawn to Cosima and so captivated by everything about her, but she was. She wanted to know everything about her. She wanted to know where Cosima grew up and what her parents were like and what movies were her favorite. And she did not want Cosima to let go of her hand.

And Cosima didn't let go of Delphine's hand. She held on, even as she opened the door of the ice cream shop, even after she paid for their ice cream and fumbled the change with one hand, even as they took their ice creams, she never once let go of Delphine's hand.

Not until they found a bench outside to sit and eat their ice cream. Delphine had gotten strawberry ice cream in a cup, and Cosima got chocolate ice cream in a cone. They ate in silence. Delphine sucked on the spoon in her mouth and watched Cosima eat. Cosima's tongue darted out of her mouth repeatedly, licking the ice cream into her mouth, occasionally putting her lips on it and biting off a soft chunk of the dessert. Delphine licked her lips and put another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

Cosima glanced at her and Delphine realized she was caught staring. She blushed.

"What is it? Something on my face?"

Delphine quickly shook her head. "No, no, I was just… distracted."

"Well you got a little something on yours," Cosima said.

"I do?"

Before Delphine could blink, Cosima had taken some ice cream onto her finger and swiped it onto Delphine's nose. Delphine gasped. Cosima grinned and her tongue poked out between her teeth, and as much as Delphine wanted to be angry, she couldn't help but laugh.

"You are such a brat!"

Cosima giggled with her and cocked her head to one side. They smiled at each other for a moment, and eventually Cosima lifted her hand and gently brushed the ice cream off Delphine's nose with her thumb. She kept her knuckles resting on Delphine's cheek.

They stayed like this for a moment, faces inches apart. Delphine noticed Cosima lick her lips. Why wasn't she doing anything? And then she realized it. _She wants me to make the first move,_ Delphine thought. And before her internal monologue could make her hesitate any longer or stop her altogether, Delphine closed the distance between their lips.

Delphine was immediately satisfied with her decision as she felt Cosima sigh against her mouth. They smiled and they kissed and when Delphine felt Cosima's tongue against her lips, her mouth fell open easily, remembering how that tongue looked lapping up ice cream.

Cosima tasted like chocolate. She tasted like sweet, sweet chocolate and a hint of wine from earlier and the combination of the two tasted like the promise of more. Delphine wondered how much she tasted like strawberries seeing as she only had a few bites of ice cream before setting it down on the bench next to her and grabbing Cosima's face, kissing her breathless. Cosima's mouth was hot and wet against her own, but Delphine still felt the chill on her tongue from the long forgotten ice cream.

Suddenly the chill wasn't just on her tongue, but on her lap. Delphine gasped and pulled away quickly, glancing at her lap to find Cosima's ice cream cone upside down on her dress.

"Shit!" Cosima gasped. "Fuck, I—I am so sorry! Oh god, I totally didn't mean to I was just, uhh…"

"Distracted?" Delphine suggested with a smirk.

"Yeah," Cosima said, breathless. "I guess I was." She ran inside to grab extra napkins and tried to clean up the mess as best she could, but there was still an uncomfortable, sticky stain on Delphine's dress. "We should get you out of that dress."

Delphine raised an eyebrow at her. "I am starting to think it wasn't an accident that you dropped your ice cream on me."

"No, no! It was totally an accident!" Cosima defended. "I just mean, I don't live far. You could borrow some clothes so you're not uncomfortable. And I can like, pay for the dry cleaning for your dress. It's totally my fault. Again, so sorry."

"I'm just teasing," Delphine said with a smile. "That would be lovely, Cosima."

The walk to Cosima's apartment was filled with excessive apologies from Cosima for being "like, a total spaz," and Delphine telling her to stop apologizing otherwise she would give her a matching stain with the rest of her ice cream. Cosima never stopped, though, and Delphine never followed through. Instead they walked, handing the spoon back and forth, taking bites until they finished.

Cosima led Delphine into a building and up the stairs. She unlocked the door and Delphine followed her inside. It was small and every available space was cluttered with books and papers and the colors were dark and warm and comforting, and for a moment, Delphine forgot why she was there in the first place.

Cosima approached her with a pile of clothes in her arms. "I think these might fit, although, you are taller than me so the pants might be a little short."

Delphine looked down at her, and she actually had to tilt her head down because Cosima had kicked off her heels the moment they entered the apartment and was now flat footed in front of her and much, much shorter. The top of Cosima's head could fit so easily under her chin. Cosima's small size and apologetic smile and the hopeful glimmer in her eyes were all so endearing to Delphine. Instead of taking the clothes, she pushed Cosima's arms down ever so slightly, and tilted her chin up.

Delphine had to lean down to press their lips together lightly again, and a moment later, the pile of clothes was on the floor and Cosima was on her tip toes to meet her lips fully and enthusiastically. This kiss was different from the one outside the ice cream shop. The ice cream kiss was soft and slow and sweet; they took their time studying each others' mouths and tasting and relishing in the moment. This kiss was fierce and hungry and passionate and they both kissed like they could never be satiated.

They staggered to the bedroom with fused lips and roaming hands, shedding clothes along the way and tripping over their own feet. They fell onto the bed, Cosima on top of Delphine, bare chests pressed together, and Delphine was suddenly nervous. Cosima noticed the shift in her demeanor.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I just… I have never…" Delphine tried to explain. Cosima understood immediately.

"Hey, it's fine," she said. "I'll walk you through it."

Cosima pressed her lips to Delphine's forehead, then to her nose, until finally she kissed her lips again, softly and lovingly, and Delphine felt her fear evaporate. How could she be nervous in the arms of one so gentle and so caring?

Cosima kissed every inch of skin that her lips could reach and Delphine wrapped her arms around the smaller girl as a fire blazed across her skin. And when she felt Cosima's hand between her legs, building up the throbbing pressure, she gasped and sighed and reclaimed the lips that were nipping at her earlobe. They kissed, and hips and hands created a rhythm, like a song that only they knew the words to. All Delphine could feel, all she could see, hear, taste, smell, was Cosima. Everything was Cosima.

Delphine wrapped her legs around Cosima's waist and moved her hips up to meet Cosima, feeling fingers deep inside, and Cosima bucked against her, grunting with each thrust, bringing them both closer and closer until Delphine cried out. She tugged at dreadlocks and clenched around Cosima's fingers. Cosima's hips continued grinding into Delphine until she followed with a deep moan, shuddering and gasping on top of Delphine.

The room was silent except for the sound of their breathing. Cosima pressed her forehead against Delphine's cheek and kissed her jaw softly before rolling off of her. She turned on her side to face Delphine, who was still catching her breath.

If someone had told Delphine just a few hours ago that she would end up in bed with a woman that night, she would have laughed. Now, she wondered how she could possibly be falling so fast for someone who was essentially a stranger.

Delphine rolled onto her side to face Cosima. Their noses brushed and Cosima's lips turned up into a small smile.

"How do you feel?" Cosima asked quietly.

Instead of answering, Delphine kissed her again, very briefly. "I feel amazing," she said.

"Good," Cosima grinned. "Now c'mere, I wanna cuddle."

Delphine laughed softly. Too tired to protest, she turned around and felt Cosima's arms encircle her waist and legs tangle with hers and lips on her shoulder. Delphine sighed as Cosima pulled the sheets up over them and slowly drifted off to the sound of Cosima's breath.

The next morning, Delphine woke to the sound of her phone ringing. Cosima was not roused by the sound, but she still had an arm draped over her stomach. Delphine gently pulled it off and crawled out of bed. She found the clothes Cosima had gotten for her on the floor and threw on the t-shirt to cover herself and searched for her phone.

Once she found it, she went to the bathroom to answer it, to not disturb Cosima.

"Allô?"

"Delphine? Where the hell have you been? You totally disappeared last night!" It was Julie.

"I, well, I had to leave, and um…" she whispered and trailed off. Her quiet voice and searching for an excuse gave her away.

"Oh my god, you hooked up! You're still with him?"

Delphine sighed in defeat. "Yes."

"Details, Del! What's his name? What's he look like? How good was it?"

Delphine shook her head, but took a breath. She may as well be honest. "Cosima."

"That's a weird name," Julie said. "Is he foreign?"

"No," Delphine hesitated. "She is American."

"She?" Julie asked, sounding incredulous. "A woman?"

"Oui."

Silence.

"You're not gay, Delphine."

"I… I don't know." Delphine sighed. She really didn't know. She wasn't gay before, but Cosima was different. Cosima was all wonder and intrigue. Cosima was gentle and hopeful. Cosima was Cosima and Delphine already knew this was more than just a hook up for both of them.

"What the fuck, Del?"

"Julie, I—"

"No, I just, I feel like I don't know a single thing about you. Ugh, if you ever figure your shit out, call me. Until then, goodbye Delphine."

"Julie wait—"

The phone clicked as Julie hung up. Delphine leaned against the wall, staring at the blank screen on her phone. She slowly slid down until she was sitting on the floor, and didn't realize she was crying until her cheeks felt wet and her eyes stung. A sob escaped her throat and more tears fell. Julie was a piece of work, but she was her friend, and Delphine suddenly felt abandoned and alone.

Knuckles rapped softly at the bathroom door.

"Delphine?" Cosima asked. "You okay?"

Delphine opened her mouth to reassure Cosima that yes, she was fine, and to tell her to go back to bed, but all that came out was another sob.

The next thing she knew, the door was open and Cosima was on the ground next to her. Cosima had thrown on a silk purple robe and she put a comforting hand on Delphine's arm.

"How much did you hear?" Delphine asked.

"I got the gist of it," Cosima said. She wrapped an arm around Delphine, and Delphine's head fell to her shoulder. Cosima just held her for a moment. "Shh, it's ok. I got you. I'm here."

She was there, Delphine realized. Cosima was there and she was not alone.

"Cosima?" Delphine said, sitting up and wiping her tears.

"Yeah?"

"What is this for you?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Delphine started nervously. "Most people go to clubs just to hook up. They have sex and… and never speak again. And I…" She trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

"Is that what you want?" Cosima asked. Delphine shook her head. "Well, good for you then, because I'm not most people."

Delphine felt herself smile.

"In fact, for our second date, I would like to take you out to breakfast. Is that okay?"

Delphine nodded. "Oui, I would love that."

"Good," Cosima said. She leaned in and kissed Delphine. This kiss was like their first, filled with hope and with the promise of many more kisses to come. As they kissed on the bathroom floor, Delphine realized Cosima was not a stranger and never was, because she would never feel so comfortable and so cared for and so _loved_ in the presence of a stranger.


End file.
